Tennis Channel extends contract with Carillo

LOS ANGELES — Tennis Channel, the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle, has extended its relationship with tennis and broadcasting mainstay Mary Carillo. The woman whose path has taken her from winning the French Open to winning a Sports Emmy Award will now add Wimbledon and select domestic tournaments — beginning with the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami — to her network repertoire via a multiyear contract extension.

Carillo, who joined Tennis Channel’s star-laden French Open and US Open telecast teams in 2011, was welcomed to the network with critical acclaim from peers and press alike. She lent her 32 years of television experience to Tennis Channel’s already stellar lineup which, across both tournaments, included anchor Bill Macatee, tennis legends Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, Jim Courier and others.

“We had a great time in Paris and New York last year, and I’m excited to keep working with Tennis Channel,” said Carillo. “I’m looking forward to joining the team in Miami and London.”

With coverage beginning Saturday, March 24, Tennis Channel will devote more than 140 hours of overall programming to the Sony Ericsson Open through live matches, encore replays and highlights. The network will offer close to 50 hours of live play, more than all other networks combined.

A trusted voice in sports journalism, Carillo has carved a place for herself in the television landscape like few others in the industry. Beginning as a tennis analyst for USA Network following her retirement from professional tennis in 1980, Carillo has branched out to cover a wide variety of sports stories for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, HBO Sports, ESPN and Bravo. Evidence of Carillo’s caliber of work is indicated by her numerous accolades, including a Sports Emmy Award (2006), two George Foster Peabody Awards (1999 and 2006) and the Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism (2010). Carillo has also been named “Best TV Commentator” by Tennis magazine repeatedly and “Broadcaster of the Year” twice by the Women’s Tennis Association.